The Scarlet Devil
by Shade Sorcerer
Summary: Something strange is going on at the mansion of the Devil. Reimu Hakurei, Marisa Kirisame, and Alice Margatroid check it out.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A Disruption

The relative peace of Misty Lake is disturbed as a loud explosion sounds from a well-known island. "H-hey Cirno, what was that?" the fairy Daiyousei asks her friend.  
"I dunno, but Imma go check it out!" the childish ice fairy says.  
"I don't think that's a good idea, what if it's dangerous?" Daiyousei says, sweating nervously.  
"Meh, I'll be fine. I'm the strongest, after all." Cirno says, a big grin on her face.  
"But isn't looking into this sort of thing that shrine maiden's job? What if you run into her again?" Daiyousei says.  
"I need to pay that Reimu back for that one time anyways. I can't be the strongest if she can beat me. I'll be fine, Dai!" Cirno says, preparing to fly toward the Scarlet Devil Mansion.  
"O-okay. But if you don't come back by tomorrow, I'm going to get help." Daiyousei says.  
"Don't worry about it, Dai! I'll be back before you know it. This'll teach that shrine maiden, doing her job better than her!" Cirno says, flying away.

* * *

_I hope nothing happens today, I'm still exhausted from that birdbrained god-eating raven._ Reimu Hakurei thinks, relaxing in her new hot spring. Mere seconds after thinking that, she hears a commotion out in front of the shrine. _Of course, no breaks for me._ Reimu thinks, grumbling and exiting the spring before getting re-dressed. She heads for the entrance to the shrine and gets knocked over by Daiyousei, who is babbling incoherently. "Slow down and let your brain work before you try to use your mouth." Reimu says, standing back up.  
Daiyousei takes a deep breath, then babbles some more. She pauses, takes another deep breath, and says "R-Reimu, it's Cirno! She- there was an explosion and- the island with the big house- and she hasn't- I told her it- she's missing, Reimu!"  
"So Cirno's missing after checking out an explosion at the Scarlet Devil Mansion? She probably just got killed by Meiling or something. What's the big deal, she'll just pop back into existence soon anyways." Reimu says.  
"But she's normally back already, and I told her not to be there too long, and I have a bad feeling, and I'm worried, Reimu!" Daiyousei says.  
"Ugh, fine. I'll go check it out. It's probably just one of Patchouli's spells that messed up or something." Reimu says, her hand on her forehead.

* * *

_Well, after that fiasco, I think somebody owes me some books._ Marisa Kirisame, sitting in her mess of a house, thinks. _After all, she's the one who made me go down there in the first place. Hmm, I wonder if Alice wants to come along. I'm sure Patchy has some books that'll help her with her doll thingy, and Alice helped just as much as the other two did._ The witch flies over to her friend's house, and kicks the door open. "Oi, Alice! You home?" Marisa says boisterously upon this action.  
"Actually, I was just leaving." says a disgruntled Alice Margatroid. The door had hit her in the face, and she is now sitting on her floor.  
"Oh, whoops. Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, you wanna come with me to go get some books from Patchy? She owes me after that whole deal with the crow." Marisa says, grinning sheepishly.  
"After the amount of things you've taken from her, I doubt she owes you anything. However, if you're going to be attempting to do this diplomatically, I guess I will go with you to make sure you don't cause too much trouble." Alice says, standing up.


	2. Chapter 2

Note: Word of warning; I may have to switch to uploading a chapter every other day pretty soon. this story is proving rather more difficult to write than the last one.

* * *

Chapter 2

Gaurdless Gate

"Hey, looky! It's Reimu." Marisa says, spotting the shrine maiden whilst on her way to the SDM.  
"I wonder why she is heading this way. Did something happen?" Alice says.  
"I dunno. Let's go ask her." Marisa says, flying over to Reimu.

"Oh, hello, Marisa, Alice. Did Daiyousei ask for your help, too?" Reimu says.  
"Dai? Nah, I was just thinking that Patchy owed me 'n Alice some books for helping her with that whole crow business. What's wrong with Dai?" Marisa says, slowing down so that Reimu can keep up.  
_Well, maybe she owes Alice something, but Marisa? I'm not so sure._ Reimu chuckles to herself, then says "Oh, nothing much. There was an explosion and that stupid ice fairy tried to see what it was and hasn't come back yet."  
"I imagine she just got killed by the gate guard. She will probably be back soon." Alice says.  
"Yeah, that's what I thought. But the fairy wasn't going to stop pestering me, and I figure it'll take about twenty minutes to find out what it was, so it's not like I'm losing a lot of time here anyways." Reimu says.

* * *

"Well, that's weird. It's normally China's nap-time now. I wonder where she is." Marisa says.  
"You would know the schedules of everyone here, wouldn't you." Reimu snickers.  
"Hey! I'm just good friends with her, is all." Marisa says indignantly.  
"I'm sure you are." Alice says, rolling her eyes.  
"So, we just walk up and knock, right?" Marisa says, ignoring the sarcasm.  
"Have you _ever _entered a building with its owner's permission before, Marisa?" Reimu says.  
"Geez, what is this, pick on Marisa day or something?" Marisa huffs.  
"No, you're just an easy target." Alice says with a smile.  
"Screw you too! Last time I ever try to help out a friend." Marisa says.

"But really, where is Meiling? It's not like Remilia would just let her take a day off or something." Reimu says.  
"I dunno. Maybe helping with whatever that explosion you said Dai was talking about was?" Marisa says.  
"Seems plausible enough to me. Come on, let us get this over with." Alice says, walking up to the door.  
"Whaddya mean, get this over with? Are you expecting things to go wrong?" Marisa says.  
"You are about to try to blackmail someone for her books, of which you already have many. No, I'm expecting this to go _swimmingly_." Alice says, rolling her eyes once more.  
"Hey, calling it blackmail makes it sound so criminal." Marisa says, pouting.  
"And it isn't?" Reimu says.

Alice knocks on the door. The three girls wait for a few minutes, but nothing happens. "Now _this _is weird. Normally that maid would answer the door immediately." Reimu says.  
"Yeah, normally at this point she'd be trying to throw me out." Marisa says.  
"Throw you out? We're not even _in_ yet." Alice says.  
"Yeah, normally at this point I'd already be in the library." Marisa says.  
"Whatever. Let's just try again, maybe she didn't hear us." Reimu says, knocking on the door.  
A few more minutes pass before Marisa's patience runs out. She walks up to the door and pounds on it as hard as she can. "OI! KNIFEY MCPADS! LET US IN!" the witch shouts. Both Alice and Reimu facepalm.  
"You know, insulting someone generally is not the best way to get them to kindly open their doors for you." Alice says.  
"Nah, but it always gets her attention, don't it?" Marisa says, grinning. Her statement is soon proved to be false, however, as the door remains shut. "Bah, screw this. I'm going in." Marisa says, trying to kick the door open. It doesn't budge. "Welp, time to bring out the big stuff." With that, Marisa pulls out her mini-Hakkero and aims it at the door.  
"You're taking full responsibility for this, Marisa." Reimu says, her hand once more on her forehead.  
"Fine by me. MAAAAASTEEEEER SPAAAAARK!" Marisa says, blowing the door off its hinges. The three enter the mansion.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Deserted

There are no fairy maids scrambling out of the way; there are no knives thrown in anger; there is, in fact, nothing but the three girls and the remains of the door in the entrance hall of the mansion. "Okay, where is _everyone_? I mean, I can understand them all working on fixing up whatever it was that went wrong, but I'd think somebody would've been sent to see what that noise was." Reimu says.  
"I agree. A master spark is not exactly something that goes unnoticed." Alice says.  
"Yeah, this's starting to border on creepy here. Like, did everybody just pick up and leave or something?" Marisa says.  
"No, I do not think so. If you were permanently leaving someplace, why bother locking the door?" Alice says.

"Not that labels are really important or anything, but I think it's safe to say this is an incident now. A whole mansion full of people doesn't just up and vanish overnight." Reimu says. Reimu and Marisa ready their weapons, while Alice takes out her grimoire.  
"So, plan?" Marisa says, looking at Reimu.  
"This place is way too big for us to search as a group and get done in a reasonable amount of time. It's convenient that there are three exits out of this room. We each take one, and if we find something, we beat it up 'til it tells us what happened. Sound good?" Reimu says.  
"Sounds like my kinda plan. No complaints here." Marisa says.  
"I cannot help but think that splitting up is a bad idea, but I would really rather not spend multiple days here looking for a culprit. I have reservations, but not enough to disagree with you." Alice says.  
"What, you scared?" Marisa says.  
"No, just cautious. One of us has to be." Alice says.  
"So, how are we going to choose who goes where?" Reimu says. Marisa answers by getting on her broom and flying up the stairs. "Well, that solves that. I guess I'll head down, then." Reimu says, heading down the other stairs.  
_I guess I'm staying on this floor, then._ Alice thinks, continuing into the next room.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Picturesque

Shanghai flies around Alice's head once before stopping in front of her master's face, shaking its head.  
"Yes, there is no one around, little one." Alice says.  
Shanghai sits on her shoulder, and Alice pats the doll's head. She hasn't told anyone yet, but after one of her experiments, the little doll had started pulling ever so slightly on the strings attaching it to her. It was weak, but it certainly seemed as though Shanghai had started thinking freely. Unfortunately, the little doll was not strong enough yet to move around on its own, and so Alice helps it move in whatever ways it tries to pull. She had once asked if she was pampering her little one too much, but Shanghai shook its head the instant the question had left the doll maker's mouth. Right now, the little doll seemed nervous.  
"Is it the pictures, little one?" Alice says, referencing the rather tasteless paintings of the mansion's master drenched in her 'food'.  
Shanghai shakes its head.  
Since there is little else in this hallway, just some columns with candles and the carpet, Alice is confused by the little doll's nervousness. She makes a mental note to test Shanghai's memory and pattern recognition later, curious as to whether the doll understands that such a large mansion being virtually empty is not normal. _Then again, Remilia's color choice isn't exactly helpful. Everything being the color of blood does tend to unnerve people._ Alice thinks.

_Darn it, Alice! Now's not the time to be like that!_ Shanghai thinks. Her master, deep in thought, fails to notice the little doll pulling as hard as she can on her strings. At least, not until she gets enough momentum to fall off of Alice's shoulder. Alice snaps back to reality and flies downwards, catching her little one before she hits the ground.  
"I'm so sorry little one. Is everything okay?" Alice says, breathing quickly.  
Shanghai starts nodding, but then changes her mind and shakes her head.  
"What do you mean, little one?" Alice says, calmer now.  
Shanghai points at her nose and nods, and then she points at one of the many pictures of Remilia and shakes her head. Alice tilts her head quizzically. Shanghai flies up to the picture, points at Remilia's face, then spreads her hands as far apart as she can get them vertically.  
"Yes, that picture is larger than Remilia actually is. What is the problem, little one?" Alice says.  
Shanghai shakes her head vehemently. Shanghai points at the picture again and then puts her hand at her waist, before shaking her head and putting her hand above her head.  
"I do not understand, little one. What do you mean?" Alice says.  
_Its times like these that I really wish I had vocal cords._ Shanghai thinks, giving up on whatever she was trying to tell Alice and flying back to her master's shoulder.

Alice continues flying down the long, empty hallway, becoming more and more unnerved as she continues encountering no one. This somewhat changes when she reaches the end, where there are three doors, each with a picture of a room above them, and a playing card. "Ace of diamonds. The maid?" Alice says, picking up the card.  
Shanghai shrugs, then looks at each of the pictures.  
"At least it is not a picture of the vampire covered in blood, little one. Why are they there, though?" Alice says.  
At the third picture, Shanghai jerks backwards, and then flies to the other side of Alice.  
"What is it, little one? That picture looks just like all the others." Alice says, turning to face the doll.  
Shanghai starts yanking on her dress, and points at the door opposite the painting that scared her.  
"All right, little one. If you really are that scared by the painting, we will leave." Alice says, going through the door that Shanghai is pointing at.

In this room, there are paintings of the more important inhabitants of the mansion, Sakuya, Meiling, Koakuma, and Patchouli. Shanghai flies up to each of them, and after the last one, she wipes her brow as if relieved.  
"What fascinates you so much about these pictures, little one?" Alice says, one eyebrow raised.  
_How am I supposed to explain this without words?_ Shanghai thinks. She decides to simply shrug her shoulders, figuring that any attempts to explain would fail.  
Alice walks into the middle of the room, and picks up another playing card. "Another ace. What is that maid doing?" she says.  
Shanghai shrugs again, but then puts her finger on her chin before pointing at her nose.  
"You, little one? What about you?" Alice says.  
Shanghai points at herself, then at a picture, then puts her hand over her eyes as if looking far away.  
"You… see the pictures? What does that mean, little one? I see them as well." Alice says, one eyebrow raised again.  
Shanghai puts her finger on her chin for a little while, then holds up two fingers.  
"Two? Two what?" Alice says.  
Shanghai holds up a two again, then points at herself.  
"Two… dolls? For what, little one?" Alice says.  
Shanghai mimes moving things around, and then holds up a two again.  
"You want two dolls to help you explain? Is that it, little one?" Alice says.  
Shanghai nods, and Alice gets out two dolls. Shanghai positions one as if it is sitting on a chair. She then mimes painting a picture, and puts the other doll where the canvas would be, in the same position. Shanghai then points at Alice before moving the first doll away, leaving the second one on the canvas. Then she puts the first one back, points at herself, and moves it again. This time, however, she makes the second doll mime walking away, while keeping it on the canvas. Alice's jaw drops.  
"Y-you can see someone just by looking at a picture of them, little one?" Alice says, not bothering to close her mouth after the statement.  
Shanghai nods emphatically.  
"So… what you were doing earlier… is there something different about Remilia now than in those pictures?" Alice says, her eyes wide.  
Shanghai nods, not looking very happy.  
"And whatever it is does not look good, if your face is any indication." Alice says.  
Shanghai nods.

* * *

A few minutes later, the door with the scary painting opens, and someone says "That's strange. I thought I heard someone. Oh, well. I wonder where everyone is, anyways?" and the door closes again.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A Little Blue in Scarlet

"Hello? Anybody home? I'm in your mansion, stealing your paintings! Somebody stop me!" Marisa yells. She is not lying: Fully half of the paintings that used to be on the wall have disappeared into wherever Marisa keeps the things she steals before getting back to her house. After about five more minutes of thievery, she decides she really doesn't need any more copies of the same painting, and flies as fast as she can down the hallway. After a short time, she encounters the wanton property damage that is a trademark of Danmaku battles. "Hey! Now we're getting somewhere. At least I know somebody was here. Now, just to look for 'em." Marisa says, following the trail of destruction.

The hallway continues for another hundred meters after the point that the battle must have ended. There are twenty doors between the battle and the end of the hallway. "GAH! Doors doors DOORS! It'll take forever to check… wait, whuzzat?" Marisa says, seeing a piece of paper on one of the doors. _Lessee here, it says… _

_Note to all staff:_

_Please do not enter the mistress's room. She is unwell, and your presence would do nothing to improve her health or her mood. Non-compliance with this request will result in immediate removal from the premises, if you survive long enough for me to catch you._

_S. Izayoi – Head Maid_

_… Little miss vampire ain't feeling well, huh? Wonder if that has anything to do with where everybody went._ Marisa thinks. She decides to enter the room despite Sakuya's written warning. She immediately wishes she hadn't. "Well, that's disgusting." Marisa says, upon seeing the blood-drenched room. Fortunately for a certain fairy, her blue dress stands out quite well in the crimson-painted room. "Oi, Cirno. That you?" Marisa says quietly. The ice fairy merely whimpers. "C'mon, Cirno. Let's get you out of here. Dai's worried about you, ya know?" Marisa says, walking over to her.  
Cirno looks up at her and says "M-Marisa?"  
"Yeah, it's me. What happened?" Marisa says, with a failed attempt at a comforting smile.

"W-well… There was an explosion, and I came here to fix it, since I'm the strongest and all, but w-when I got here… There wasn't anybody here, so I decided to c-check the place out, since I never really got to s-see it or anything… Sakuya showed up, t-told me I should leave, but I didn't listen to her, since I c-can handle myself… S-she started chasing me, but China s-showed up. She t-told me to hide in here, s-since people wouldn't look here, and I did, but… T-that was blood, r-right? Like… p-people blood?" Cirno says.  
While she was talking, Marisa had led her out of the room, and back into the hallway. "Nah, I'm sure it was just… funny-smelling ketchup! Yeah, it was just funny smelling ketchup, Cirno. Nothing to worry about! Now, c'mon. Let's get you out of this dump. Like I said, Dai's worried about you." Marisa says, getting on her broom. Cirno looks unconvinced, but follows Marisa back to the entrance nonetheless.

* * *

After escorting the ice fairy out of the mansion and heading back to Remilia's room, Marisa says "Ugh. I really don't wanna do this, but it's the closest thing to a lead I got." She reenters the room and looks around. "Euch! There's blood stalactites. How did that much blood even get up there? It's almost like somebody . . ." Marisa's face completely drains of color before she whispers one word. "Exploded…" Her stomach decides to add some green to the red of the room, and she kneels on the floor, expelling her breakfast. "Oh, gods. I need to tell Reimu and Alice, right now." Marisa says. _I'll check the first floor first. Hopefully they didn't both go downstairs_ Marisa thinks. She bolts back to the entrance, and barrels through the door Alice had gone through earlier. _Dammit doors! Now's not the time!_ she thinks upon reaching the end of the hallway. She decides to continue straight ahead and come back for the doors on either side later.

Marisa looks around the room, which is empty other than more paintings, a piano, and a second door. Both the door and the piano have another note on them. Marisa ignores the piano entirely and heads straight for the door. _Another one? What's this one say? _Marisa thinks, tearing the paper off the door.

_Note to M. Kirisame:_

_Please leave immediately. You are disrupting the residents._

_S. Izayoi – Head Maid_

_Well, that's subtle._ Marisa thinks after reading the note. _I wonder if it's new, or if she just put it here in case. It'd be just like her to leave things like that all over the place, whether I was here at the time or not. Her sense of time is weird._ Already in the next room by the time she finished reading the note, Marisa looks around again. "Looks like Knifey don't want me here after all." she says, looking at what appears to be a maze in front of her. _I'd just blast my way through, but she'd already finish fixin' it by the time I was done. And it looks like it touches the ceiling, so there's no flying over it._ Marisa thinks. She rips the note up before entering the leftmost entrance.

She burns a small hole in the carpet at said entrance, then takes the first left. _What was it, follow the left wall n' you get out eventually or somethin'? I think it was left._ Marisa thinks. As she travels, a knife shoots out of the wall, nearly cutting her nose off. "Wagh! Oi, Knifey, you tryin' ta kill me?" Marisa says. There is no response. "Hey, McPads, you there?" she says. Once again, there is no response. _Musta just been a trap then. For as 'elegant and perfect' as she is, her temper's shorter'n Suika's time sober._ Marisa thinks. She continues onward, dodging another trap, and comes upon a dead end. She turns around, to see the entrance to the maze right behind her, sans hole in carpet. _Wait, what? I knew she played with space, but she's never done anything like this before. She REALLY must want me gone. I wonder if Reimu n' Alice had to put up with this crap. … Ah, shit. I'm not gonna be able to get through here if she's playing around like that. _"Guess I might as well just leave, then." Marisa says, heading for the door. When she reaches the door, she spins and fires a Master Spark through the middle of the maze, and flies through the hole in the wall the instant her spell is done. "Success! Suck it, Knifey!" she says enthusiastically, punching into the air with joy.

This door also has a note on it, and is an exact repeat of the previous note Marisa found. "Hey, Maid! If you wanna talk to me, then come out and talk to me, dammit!" she says. There is, as usual, no response. Marisa sighs and shakes her head, before entering the next room.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Little Doll, Little Sister

Alice and Shanghai have remained in the room with the pictures of the non-vampiric residents of the mansion. "Is there any way you can think of to explain what is different about Remilia other than what you did earlier, little one?" Alice says.  
Shanghai shakes her head, a frustrated frown on her face.  
"I see. And I still have not been able to figure out what you were trying to tell me, other than maybe that the picture is disproportionate, although I don't think that is it." Alice says.  
Shanghai makes a 'so-so' motion with her hand.  
"So, you mean I am getting closer?" Alice says.  
Shanghai nods.

Alice's eyes grow wide suddenly. "Little one, earlier, what did you see in that room that scared you so much?" she says.  
Shanghai nods, then puts her finger on her chin for a while.  
"Is it difficult to explain?" Alice says.  
Shanghai nods again.  
"Is it as difficult to explain as Remilia?" Alice says.  
Shanghai shakes her head. She then sticks one finger up into the air, having had an idea.  
"What is it, little one?" Alice says, one brow raised.  
Shanghai makes a shush motion with her hand. She then puts her hand at around the bottom of Alice's ribcage before flying back in front of her master and putting her fingers in her mouth, making them stick out like fangs.  
Alice goes pale. "You mean… Remilia's little sister? Flandre?" she says quietly.  
Shanghai nods.  
Alice says "I've never met her, but I've heard things from Marisa. Highly unstable, and able to destroy anything… She's loose?" Then Alice's fearful face changes to one of confusion. "But, wait. Little one, how would you know of her? I have not spoken of her since before the experiment that brought you life." she says.  
Shanghai flies up to Alice's head. She puts a finger on her master's forehead, then moves it to her own. She repeats this motion a few times.  
"You mean… you know everything I do, little one?" Alice says, her eyes wide.  
Shanghai nods.  
"But how is that possible?" Alice says.  
Shanghai shrugs.

Alice shakes her head. "It is not something to be thinking about now. Right now, we should put as much distance between her and us as we can. We should also try to warn Reimu and Marisa." the doll maker says. She turns towards the door that they came in from. It also has a painting, just of the end of the hallway, above it. "Little one, is it safe?" she says.  
Shanghai flies up to the painting and looks at it for a little while. Then she nods.  
"I know Marisa has already survived one encounter with Flandre. I believe we should go warn Reimu first." the doll maker says to her doll as they rush back down the hallway. Upon their arrival at the entry hall, Alice sees a speck of blue flying away through the hole where the door used to be. "It appears as though Cirno has made it out safely, at least. Come, little one. Reimu went downstairs." she says, heading down the stairs. A few minutes later, a blond witch flies through the door Alice had just left.

There are two hallways at the bottom of the staircase. With no pictures to help them along, Alice decides to go down the right hallway. Unlike every other room the doll maker and her little on had been in so far, it is purple, and instead of candles, there are magic flames to light the way, bathing the hall in an eerie blue light. "I imagine this is the way to Patchouli's library. She hardly ever leaves it, so if she is alive, she would be here, so I imagine this is where Reimu went." Alice says.  
Shanghai nods.

Upon reaching the end of the hallway, they find a single door, with two notes on it. "Pieces of paper? What are they doing on a door?" Alice says, one eyebrow raised. In the majority of Gensokyo, paper, at least paper that doesn't already have the writing of a tengu on it, is a rare commodity. Alice, having lived in Gensokyo, or, at least, Gensokyo-like places, her entire life, finds sticking pieces of paper to a door both strange and wasteful. Shanghai flies up to them, to see if there are any pictures on them. Both sides of each paper are devoid of drawings, however, so Alice takes a look. One of them is written in English, a language with which the doll maker has no experience. She pockets the note and looks at the other one. This one is written in Japanese, so Alice reads it, out loud for Shanghai's benefit.

"Note to A. Margatroid, S. Margatroid:

I wish to ask you to refrain from entering Lady Patchouli's library. Unfortunate events have occurred, and I do not wish to involve anyone outside of the mansion. In fact, it would be to your benefit to rendezvous with R. Hakurei and M. Kirisame and leave the mansion altogether.

S. Izayoi – Head Maid

P.S. Apologies to S. Margatroid if you wish to be called something else. A. Margatroid treats you like her child, so I saw fit to bestow you with her family name."

"So… do you mind it?" Alice says to Shanghai, who tilts her head quizzically. "Having my last name, I mean. Do you mind having my last name?" Alice says, blushing slightly.  
Shanghai facepalms, then shakes her head. _Is now really the time to worry about how I see you, Alice?_ the little doll thinks.  
"Thank you so much, little one! From now on, you're officially Shanghai Margatroid!" Alice says while hugging her new 'child'. Alice then steps back, brushes off her dress, and says "Ahem. Excuse me. I apologize, that was unnecessary."  
The newly christened Shanghai Margatroid shrugs, and then points at the main body of the note.  
"Yes, of course. I'm sorry. The note. Umm… isn't that what we are trying to do? I thought that Reimu would have come here first, as Patchouli almost never leaves the library. What Sakuya wrote, however, makes me think that perhaps Reimu went somewhere else. But, where else on this floor is there something important? I apologize, Sakuya, if you are listening, but I believe that Reimu is in the library, and as such, in order to rendezvous with her, entering the library is necessary." Alice says.

She opens the door to the library, and her jaw drops. This might be expected of someone's first time in Voile, but Alice has been here before. As such, what makes her jaw drop is not the towering bookshelves, the eerie hanging lamps, or the number of fairy maids attending the books, but instead is the lack of all these things. The books are still there, having been so heavily enchanted that one could throw them into the sun and still read them when they came out the other side, but the rest of the library looks like, well, it had been thrown into the sun and come out the other side. The only surviving bookshelves were arranged in a fortress like manner in the center of the unbelievably large room. These were surrounded by a pillar of light. People who live a normal life would not be able to place this light, but Alice, who lives in a dense forest which sees little of this, immediately identifies it as sunlight. Approaching this place, Alice notices a number of other strange things; there is no hole in the ceiling leading outside; the light seems to have no source, making everything look oddly flat; most of the books on these bookshelves are missing. There is a makeshift 'door', made from a piece of a bookshelf and some spinal bindings for books, at one part of this impromptu fortress. It is the only entrance, and so Alice knocks.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Chinese Book-Guard

Reimu Hakurei takes the left path, her destination already decided. Of course, due to the size of the mansion, she gets lost many times on the way there. After about an hour, she finally arrives at Flandre Scarlet's room. The many locks normally on the door are all gone, and Reimu doesn't need to enter to know that the room is empty. _Damn, so it is her. Did everyone just run from her this time, or what?_ Reimu thinks. She decides, since she and Marisa had already taken down the somewhat psycho vampire once, to go get Marisa and then find Flandre. About another hour of getting lost later, she reaches the entrance hall again. The door to deeper in the first floor is open, and Reimu thinks _Strange. I always pictured Alice as somebody who'd close the door behind her._ She shrugs, then heads upstairs. After going through the long hallway, checking every door for signs of the witch and vomiting upon reaching Remilia's room, she enters the door at the end of the hall. _Marisa's a pretty straightforward person. She probably just went through this door. _She steps through the door, something hits her in the back of the neck, and the world goes black.

_Ugh… what happened. Feels like Tenshi dropped a rock on my head._ Reimu thinks.  
"Hey, you awake yet?" someone says.  
"Mgh. Wha're you doin' i' ma shrn?" Reimu mumbles.  
"That didn't even sound like words. Are you okay, Reimu?" the person says again.  
"Mgh. Wher'm'I?" Reimu says.  
"I hope I didn't give her brain damage or anything." the voice, which Reimu starts finding vaguely familiar, says.  
Reimu rubs her eyes, sits up, and slowly says "What you doing in shrine?"  
"Uh, Reimu. This isn't your shrine. It's the mansion." the person says.  
"Mansion? Scarlet?" Reimu says.  
"Wow, you wake up really slowly, don't you." the person, who Reimu now realizes has a Chinese accent, says.  
"Shu'p. I tired. Want more sleep." Reimu says.  
Meiling slaps Reimu and says "I've given you two hours to wake up on your own. You've done this three times already. I don't care who you are, WAKE THE HELL UP!"  
"Fine, fine. I'm awake! You didn't need to hit me, you know." Reimu says.  
"Except that when I only shouted at you, you just went back to sleep. What else was I supposed to do?" Meiling says.

"Okay, fine. Anyways, what happened to me?" Reimu says, frowning.  
"I, uh… I kinda thought you were Sakuya, so I kinda, uh…" Meiling says.  
"So you knocked me out because you thought I was the maid? Wait… Why were you trying to knock out Sakuya in the first place? And where is everybody? And what was that explosion yesterday? And why is Flandre loose? And where's Marisa? And why are you glowing?" Reimu says.  
"Umm… that's a lot of questions… Uh, well… Let's see… This is kinda tough to explain, so… uh… um… Remilia went kinda nutso or something, but Sakuya's still working for her, but since I'm pretty much employed by Patchy, I mean, there's not much in the mansion to guard other than the library that anybody here in Gensokyo would want, and Patchy's trying to reverse whatever it was that happened to Remilia, me, her, and Koakuma are working against her and Sakuya, and Flandre's just somewhere… I can't really travel around that easily, 'cause Sakuya's been messing with the mansion, so I don't know where she is." Meiling says.  
"What." Reimu says.  
Meiling says "Remilia went crazy and me and Patchy are trying to undo it. Sakuya's still loyal to Remilia, so it's tough to get around. Nobody really know where Flandre is."  
"I heard you the first time. That just doesn't make any sense. Also, what about the explosion and the fact you're glowing?" Reimu says.  
"That explosion was Patchy testing her sunlight bomb… it didn't work too well, or rather, it worked too well. Most of the bookshelves are gone now. And the glowing is sunlight that Patchy put on me, to help protect me from Remilia, who, by the way, I haven't actually seen since this whole thing started." Meiling says.

"So I need to beat up the vampire again? You'd think she'd have learned the first time not to cause trouble. So, any idea where she is?" Reimu says.  
"Nope, and I'm not sure it'll be that simple this time, Reimu. Patchy said that Remilia stopped following the spell-card rules… You might have to actually kill her…" Meiling said, looking down sadly.  
"She WHAT!?" Reimu says.  
"She… stopped following spell-card rules…" Meiling says.  
"Yes, I heard you the first time! Shut up!" Reimu says. She then mutters "I'm going to grind her arrogant ass into dust."  
"Well, uh… Can you at least wait and see if Patchy can fix her first? I don't think what's going on is really Remilia's fault, at least, not from the way Patchy was talking about it." Meiling says.

"Fine, I'll wait for Patchy to have an asthma attack and DIE fighting that stuck-up bitch, _then_ I'll kill her. Is that what you want?" Reimu says viciously.  
"Umm… Actually, Patchy said she fixed it so that won't happen. Apparently she had a spell that would get rid of her asthma, she just didn't see any need to use it, and she didn't want to make Remilia feel threatened, so she didn't use it." Meiling says.  
"Fine! You win, I'll let Patchouli try to 'cure' Remilia or whatever. Happy?" Reimu says.  
"Yes. Thank you, Reimu. Patchy might be the person I'm actually working for, but I'm still working here because of Remilia." Meiling says.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

End of Space, Out of Time

"Miss Kirisame." Sakuya says, when Marisa enters the room.  
"Hey, look. It's Knifey. How's it been? I heard your master ain't feeling too good. Any truth to that?" Marisa says.  
"The mistress is not quite… herself at the moment, it is true. I'm sure it will pass soon enough. How did you read that, anyway? I didn't think you knew roman lettering." Sakuya says.  
"You thought all'a Patchy's books were in Japanese? Shows how smart you are." Marisa says with a chuckle.  
"Ah yes, of course. It wouldn't do you any good to steal books that you can't read. You're right, I should have thought of that." Sakuya says.  
"Hey, I'm only borrowing. It's not like she can't have 'em back when I'm dead." Marisa says calmly.  
"Then, I'm certain she would not be terribly upset were I to speed that along, would she?" Sakuya says.  
"Probably not. Although, I'd think you'd be wanting ta help me speed along the process of getting little miss vampire back to normal. Or do you not care about your 'mistress' as much as you claim to?" Marisa says, grinning.  
Sakuya twitches, but doesn't attack. "I've seen how you 'help' people, and I'm sure my mistress wouldn't appreciate that type of treatment. If you wanted to keep your life, you would leave, immediately." she says.  
_So she's not gonna be playing by the rules then, huh._ "You know I can't just up and leave like that, not without at least playing some Danmaku first." Marisa says, smiling.

Sakuya surrounds Marisa with knives, but Marisa vaporizes the ones in front of her and flies through the hole. The knives all run into each other and clatter harmlessly to the ground. Marisa fires a laser at Sakuya, then kicks straight out behind her, catching the maid, who had stopped time and attempted to stab her in the back, under the chin. As she is sent back, Sakuya throws many knives at Marisa, who matches the maid's barrage with a multitude of stars. Using the smoke as cover, Sakuya dashes in and stabs at Marisa with a knife. There is a clang as her knife strikes something, and Marisa says "Sorry, Knifey, but I ain't got time for you. MAAASTEEER SPAAARK!" Her spell blasts Sakuya away, and Marisa dashes into the next room.

Sakuya is waiting for her, knives in hand. "Really, Knifey? I got somewhere ta be. Can't you just get outta the way for once?" Marisa says, shaking her head.  
"I'm sorry, Ms. Kirisame, but I can't let you get to the mistress." Sakuya says. _Not just for her health, but for yours, too, Marisa._  
"Well, too bad. I'm gonna stop whatever's going on, and then I'm gonna be takin' those books Patchy owes me. You know how we fix things around here, don'cha?" Marisa says, firing another burst of stars at Sakuya. She deflects these with her knives, and appears at Marisa's side. Marisa kicks out behind herself again when she sees that Sakuya has vanished, and Sakuya grabs her leg and throws her back into the previous room. Sakuya follows.

"You know, Knifey, we're just gonna keep going back and forth like this 'til ya get tired. You might as well just let me pass and save your energy for the little sister." Marisa says.  
"Little sister? Flandre's loose?" Sakuya says, an eyebrow raised.  
"You didn't know? I thought you had a better grasp of what was going on here." Marisa says. A knife stabs her in the back of her right arm, and she screams. She falls to the ground, and is on her knees and elbows, her left hand behind her right hand.  
"I do. I just needed to distract you." Sakuya says, walking up to her.  
"FIIINAAAL SPAAARK!" Marisa yells, raising her left hand, and her mini-Hakkero, to the maid's face. Sakuya gets flung into the wall, and collapses unconscious to the ground. "Ow, damn. That maid's stupid knives hurt like hell." Marisa says, pulling out the knife and burning the wound closed whilst gritting her teeth.

Marisa continues onwards, past the next few rooms. She comes upon a large, intricately decorated double door made of very expensive-looking wood. _Looks like Alice n' Reimu're gonna hafta take care of Flan themselves._ the witch thinks. She pushes the heavy doors open, and continues into what must be Remilia's other room.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The Great Missing Library

Reimu and Meiling walk down the purple-tinted hallway towards the Voile library. "So, did Patchouli tell you what happened to Remilia? So far, you've been pretty vague about what Remilia is doing." Reimu says.  
"Uh… no, she really didn't. She just told me it was bad, and that I should just focus on getting Sakuya out of her way." Meiling says.

They reach Voile, and Reimu's jaw drops at the destruction within.  
"Uh… It wasn't like this last time I was here. There was definitely more… not destroyed stuff." Meiling says, her mouth in the same condition as Reimu's.  
"I thought you said Patchouli was still using this as a base. Where's the, uh… the base part, thing?" Reimu says.  
The library is in terrible shape. All of the bookshelves are either missing, or torn to pieces in a pile in the middle of the room, and the hanging lamps are all gone.

"I guess… I guess Remilia got here first… damn, I thought Patchy would have at least contacted me if she was attacked…" Meiling says. As if on cue, Meiling's pocket starts ringing.  
"Gah! What is that thing?" Reimu says, as Meiling pulls out a Nokia.  
"It's called a cellphone, and they were just starting to become popular when we moved the mansion here." Meiling says. She answers the phone, and says "Yeah Patchy, what's up? We're in the library, and your book fort is gone. What happened? … Oh. Well, are you alright? … That's good, at least. … Yeah, Reimu's with me. What about you and Koakuma? … Alice? Why was she here? … Oh, Ok. Well, I'm glad you're safe, and we'll head for the main hall immediately. See you. … Bye."  
"Was that like that thing Yukari did to my Yin-Yang orbs when I dealt with the hell-raven? Where you can talk to somebody far away with it?" Reimu says.  
"Yeah, and Patchy buffed it with magic, to make it work here in Gensokyo. But anyways, we have to get to the entry hall, Patchy's waiting for us." Meiling says.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, they make it back to the entry hall. Patchouli is nowhere to be found.  
"Damn, I guess something happened." Meiling says. She pulls out her cell phone, and presses some buttons. The phone rings some more, and Meiling says "Damn, voicemail."  
"Voicemail?" Reimu says.  
"Not important. It just means that Patchy can't reach her phone at the moment. I'm sure she's fine, though. Ever since she cured her asthma, Patchy's been near unstoppable. Imagine Marisa, but, like, a lot stronger." Meiling says.  
"Really? That's a little… scary." Reimu says, her eyes widened slightly.  
"I guess… we should probably just go after Remilia now… If she attacked, and Patchy still couldn't do anything after such a long time, I guess we should just take her down." Meiling says sadly.  
"So, where would Remilia be?" Reimu says.  
"Probably the main hall. C'mon, it's through here." Meiling says, gesturing to the open door.  
"That's where Alice was heading. You don't think she…" Reimu says.  
"Nah, Patchouli said that Alice showed up a while ago. Although, apparently, she left before Remilia attacked the library, so I don't know where she is now." Meiling says, heading through the door.

Meiling leads Reimu through the center door at the end of the hall, and both of their jaws drop. In this room, there used to be a maze. Now, there are the remains of walls, some of which have been burned, and others which have simply crumbled. "Well, I guess we know where Marisa and Flandre went." Reimu says.

* * *

Note: Before anyone yells at me for the SDM folks having cellphones, remember that the mansion was dropped into Gensokyo shortly before the events of EoSD. If I use the timing convention that most people appear to use, that means they showed up in early 2002. Remilia, being rich, probably had all sorts of cutting edge(at the time) technology. So not only is it possible for them to have cellphones, it's likely.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Cold Insanity

Patchouli opens the door. She gestures for Alice to come inside. Alice starts walking in, but when Shanghai reaches the door, she gets zapped and falls to the ground. "Hey! What was that for?" Alice says vehemently while picking up the little doll.  
"I can't hear anything. The solar explosive I was testing yesterday made us deaf." Patchouli says. She continues "I'm searching for a spell that will fix it now, but until I find it, you'll need to communicate with me via writing." She hands Alice a piece of paper and a pencil. "Write." she says.  
Alice writes _Why did you zap Shanghai?_  
"I apologize. There is an anti-magic field surrounding the base. For protection." Patchouli says.  
_Protection from what?_ Alice writes.  
"Remilia." Patchouli says.  
Alice writes _May I have a moment to think, please?_  
"Sure." Patchouli says, closing the door.

"Are you okay, little one?" Alice says.  
Shanghai nods weakly.  
"That is good. It would not do to be getting my daughter killed, now would it?" Alice says with a chuckle.  
Shanghai nods again, then tilts her head quizzically.  
"Yes. I wish to ask Patchouli about what happened to Remilia, and I was wondering if you think we should reveal that you are alive or not." Alice says.  
Shanghai nods a third time.  
"All right, little one." Alice says, knocking on the door again.

Patchouli opens the door, looking expectantly at the paper in Alice's hand. "Why didn't you write before knocking?" she says.  
Alice shrugs, then raises an eyebrow suddenly. She writes _Wait, if you can't hear, than how did you know when I knocked on the door?_  
"The other side turns colors when people knock." Patchouli says. Then, she says "That is not the only reason you wanted time to think, is it?"  
_No, it's not. There is something wrong with Remilia, yes? I have received_ Alice crosses this last bit out, replacing it with _Shanghai told me that something about Remilia is different than how she looks in the pictures, and that it's not just the amount of blood in them._  
"Yes. I… No. It's not important. Koakuma is looking for a spell to fix her now. Also, your doll is alive now? Congratulations on your success." Patchouli says.  
_Thank you, but if Shanghai thinks it's important, I would like to know._ Alice writes.  
Patchouli sighs. "Fine. If you must." She pauses, and takes a deep breath. "Remilia wanted to become an adult. She was sick of being looked down on because she's just a kid. So we found a spell to make her an adult. Turns out it also made her crazy." Patchouli says, her lips pursed and eyes low.  
"Oh." Alice says.  
"Still can't hear you." Patchouli says, seeing Alice's mouth move.  
_I know._ writes Alice.

Koakuma flies up behind Patchouli and taps her on the shoulder. Patchouli turns, and Koakuma points at an open book on a table. Patchouli nods, then says to Alice "Koakuma found the spell. Please give us a moment." and closes the door. There is a loud pop, and a short time later, the door opens again. "I can hear you now." Patchouli says. Alice is gone. "Alice? Damn. Ko, Alice left. Go look for her." Patchouli says, casting a sunlight spell on the demon.  
"Right. Can't have her get caught by Remilia or nothing." Koakuma says, flying off.

Patchouli starts going through the available books again, looking for some spell that will return Remilia to normal. Four and a half hours go by. There is a noise, and Patchouli looks up. She notices that the door has changed to Koakuma's muddy red color, and she gets up. She opens the door, and gets stabbed in the stomach by one of Remilia's chains of fate. When her vision clears, she sees Remilia holding a very limp and very grey Koakuma. Remilia says nothing; she simply stares coldly at her once best friend. "Bitch." Patchouli says, dropping a round object. She then blast air outwards, knocking the vampire and the object away from her. She ducks back inside her fortress and, after dislodging the chain from her gut, closes the door. She plugs her ears, and waits for the explosion. It never comes. Remilia's chains start smashing the makeshift fortress, knocking it to pieces. A Gungnir flies through the wall, but Patchouli dissipates the energy-based spear with a wave of her hand. She shoots a giant saw blade at her landlord, and flies out the back of the collapsing tower of bookshelves. Patchouli flees out the back entrance of the library, and Remilia gives chase.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Scarlet Nightmare

"She's unconscious." Meiling says, kneeling over Sakuya.  
"Marisa, probably. If it was Flandre, there probably wouldn't be much left of her now." Reimu says.  
"You really think that? Sure, she's a little not all there, but Flan's not a bad person. She just never really got the chance to grow up. From what Patchy told me, despite having lived way longer than they normally would have, since they're vampires and all, their brains didn't actually grow up. They're both perpetual children, and kids playfight. It's just that, with Flan, she's so strong, her playfighting's a bit… excessive." Meiling says.  
"You can say that again." Reimu huffs, remembering her last 'playfight' with the little vampire.  
"Either way, she likes Sakuya, so I don't think she'd kill her." Meiling says.

They continue onwards. They come upon the large, ornately decorated doors to the great hall. "That's not good." Reimu says.  
"What?" Meiling says.  
"It's too quiet. If Marisa had come this way, she should be fighting Remilia if she was here, too." Reimu says.  
"Yeah, you're right. And Flandre isn't exactly quiet, either." Meiling says.  
"Well, time to see what's going on." Reimu says, pushing the door open.

The first thing that strikes the two is the stench of blood and of death. The room smells little different than a morgue. The second is the red mist hanging low to the ground, which tastes like iron. The next things they notice are the desiccated corpses covered in blood. Marisa's normally white apron is stained crimson, her skin is grey, and her face is frozen in the most pure expression of indescribable terror possible. Her hat has been ripped apart, and her broom is in pieces on the floor next to her. The remnants of a shattered mini-Hakkero are still clutched in her hand. Her clothes are in tatters, and there are two small holes in her neck, from which the blood has long since ceased flowing. She is covered in numerous wounds, and it is hard to tell whether these killed her, or she died to blood loss as a result of becoming a meal. Koakuma appears to have fared little better, with one of her wings torn off, leaving a bloody stump. There is a hole in the center of her head, which goes all the way to the other side. Her clothes are also in pieces, and she, too, has two small holes in her neck.

The next noticeable things in the room are the pieces of Patchouli Knowledge scattered throughout it. There is a hand near Reimu and Meiling, and another off to one side of the room. Intestines are in a pile in one corner, and her spine is hanging out of a hole in the wall. Her arms and legs have been arranged in a mockery of the Buddhist symbol for peace, and her ribcage has been casually thrown onto a chair. Her head remains the most intact, and has been placed upright in Remilia's throne-like chair, which rests at the top of a small set of stairs. As such, Patchouli's very much dead eyes are staring at the gatekeeper and the shrine maiden. Unlike Marisa and Koakuma, her expression appears to be a mixture of sadness and anger.

The final things of note in the room are Remilia Scarlet herself, and the decapitated body she is weeping over. Remilia is a full-grown adult now, being nearly six feet tall, were she to stand. Her wings are easily ten feet across, each. Her once-short blue hair is stained scarlet with blood, and reaches down to her waist. She wears a ball gown that one can only assume was once white, but is, like her hair, so bloodstained it appears a deep, dark crimson. It is torn in places, though unlike the others' clothes, this seems to be for easier movement, rather than as a result of battle. In her blood-drenched hands, she holds the head of Flandre Scarlet.

Reimu falls to the ground, weeping silently. Meiling ends up on her hands and knees, vomiting. Upon noticing their presence, Remilia places her sister's head next to her sister's neck, gets up, and faces them. Her eyes are red, both from crying and from blood, and there are tear-streaks cutting paths through the blood on her face.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Little Sister, Big Sister

Flandre Scarlet is merrily skipping through the halls of her big sister's mansion. Not being allowed out much, she takes every chance she can get to explore the place. Earlier, she had heard someone she didn't recognize talking, but she couldn't find them, so she forgot about it. Now, she is heading towards the great hall. She comes upon a room with lots of walls that she doesn't remember being here last time, and there is a tunnel burned through the middle of it, straight to the other side. "Yay! Miss Marisa came to play again!" she says quite happily. She decides that she wants to play, too, and 'kyuu~'s a few of the still standing walls. She then continues on her way. She finds Sakuya unconscious on the ground, and says "It looks like Miss Maid and Miss Marisa already played. I hope Miss Marisa isn't too tired to play with me, now."

She enters the room before the great hall, and hears someone laughing from inside the hall. Remembering the unknown person from earlier, she says "It sounds like Miss Other Person is having a lot of fun in there. I wonder if I can play with her, too." She pushes the door open, finding someone she doesn't recognize holding a broken-looking thing in Marisa's clothes.

"Miss Other Person? Why do you have a broken Marisa doll?" the naïve vampire says.  
"Oh, hello Flan. I didn't hear you come in." Remilia says. "This isn't a Marisa doll, Flan. This is Marisa."  
"Don't be silly. Miss Marisa isn't grey and red, she's black and white. Do you know where Miss Marisa is? I want to play with her." Flandre says.  
Remilia's eyes grow wide, and she looks like she is about to vomit. Dropping the corpse, she says "O-of course she is, Flan. How silly of me. I-I'm afraid I don't know where Marisa is at the moment. But you can always play with your big sister, right, Flan?"  
"Oh, do you know where Big Sister is, Miss Other Person? I haven't been able to find her anywhere." Flandre says, looking down.  
Remilia looks as though someone just massacred everyone she cares about. "W-what do you mean, Flan. It's me, Remilia… I'm right here, Flan." she says.  
Still looking down, Flan says, almost monotonously, "No you're not. Miss Other Person, why is there so much blood on the floor?"  
"I-it really is me, Flan. It's Remi, it's your big sister, Flan. I'm her, I-I'm here, Flan. I'm right here." Remilia says, on the verge of tears.  
Flandre looks up. Coldly staring at Remilia, she says "No, you're not. Big Sister would never kill Miss Marisa. Miss, why'd you kill Miss Marisa?"  
"I didn't- I-I'm… I… It's me, Remilia, Flan. It's your big sister, right here… I-it was… it was an accident. I didn't… I'm Remilia, Flandre. Please, it's me." Remilia says.  
"Stop lying. I've had accidents before. _That_ is not what an accident looks like. What did you do to Big Sister?" Flandre says, still staring at Remilia.  
"I-I-I-I… B-b-b-b-but… I-i-i-i-it's m-me. I-I-I a-am Remilia… I-I am your big sister…" the weeping vampire says.  
"I said stop LYING! I bet you killed Big Sister, too! I'll kill you I'll kill you I'llkillyouI'llkillyouI'llkillyou DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE!" Flandre says, rushing at Remilia with Laevatein in hand.  
Remilia deflects Flandre's strike with Gungnir. "Flandre, stop, please! It's me, Remilia. See, I even have Gungnir with me!" she says.  
Flandre brings her blade down at Remilia's head, but it is deflected again. She screams "You even took Big Sister's favorite toy, too! You're the worst kind of person and you should just DIE!" She raises her hand, getting ready to destroy Remilia.  
A chain of fate chops her head off.

Remilia falls to the ground, catching her sister's head before it touches the floor. Flandre's body crumples, but Remilia lays it out straight, and puts the younger vampire's hands over her chest, as if she was the object of a funeral. "Dammit Patchouli. If you hadn't let me go through with this… If you'd had the nerves to just tell me I was stupid… I'll kill you, I'll do it slowly, and I'll make you suffer…"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Ancient Magic

Alice and Shanghai are now seated in the shadows next to the door of the great hall. Earlier, in the library, Shanghai had noticed an issue of the Bunbunmaru News, with a picture of Marisa near the entrance to the underground, lying on the ground. Upon examining the picture, Shanghai had urgently gesticulated to Alice, who had correctly assumed that Marisa was in danger. Alice had taken the paper with them on their search for Alice's friend, and about halfway through the first floor, Shanghai had suddenly stopped. Alice had asked her what happened, and Shanghai just shook her head. Alice had dropped the paper and sat there crying for many minutes. More recently, Flandre had entered the great hall, there were sounds of a fight, and Remilia exited whilst weeping.

Alice gets up, and pushes the door open. Upon seeing the two dead bodies, she forcibly turns Shanghai away from room while she herself gasps in horror. Shanghai turns herself back around and hugs Alice's neck, trying to comfort her. Alice sniffles and says "Thank you, Shanghai, but…" She looks down and starts crying. Shanghai looks as though she would also be crying, if she could. After several minutes of this, they hide in the next room. Shanghai points at Alice's grimoire.  
"No. If you really know everything I do, little one, you would know that I will never use that again." Alice says solemnly.  
Shanghai slaps Alice and points back towards the main hall.  
"I know, little one, but I can't. Not after what happened last time." says Alice.  
Shanghai puts her hand on her forehead, and then she mimes opening and closing a book.  
"No. I'm sorry, but I absolutely refuse to use that spell again. I can't risk the consequences." Alice says sternly.  
Shanghai shakes her head, and points at the book again. She once more mimes opening it, then she mimes casting the beginning of a spell, but mimes closing the book before finishing the miming of the spell.  
"Fine. If it will make you feel better, I will begin preparing the spell. I still don't plan to ever cast it again, though." Alice says.

Alice removes the bindings from her grimoire. She holds her hand over the book, and the pages start flipping on their own. It stops near the middle of the book, and the light in the rooms dims. Shanghai drops to the ground as Alice's concentration becomes focused on her magic. Were she able to move, Shanghai would be hiding behind Alice. The grimoire begins glowing darkly, flooding the room in a deep purple light. Alice begins chanting in an unknown language. Before anything actually happens though, Alice slams the book shut, and an explosion of dark energy blasts away part of the ceiling.

Alice collapses to the floor, unconscious. She wakes up to the sounds of screaming from the great hall. She pushes the door open ever so slightly, silently thanking Sakuya for keeping the mansion in such good shape, since the door makes no noise. She sees Remilia pulling out Patchouli's spinal cord and slamming it through the wall. She turns around and covers her mouth, trying not to vomit. When the sounds of mutilation stop, she looks back out the door to see Remilia kneeling over Flandre's body, the younger vampire's head in her hands.

* * *

Note: Sorry for the SUPER late chapter. It was incredibly uncooperative. I mean, I'm not a very superstitious person, but... Anstyways, hopefully I can get back on schedule from now on.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Final

The Grimoire of Alice

"What do you want?" Remilia says to the shrine maiden and gatekeeper.  
"You bitch…" Reimu says.  
"L-Lady Patchouli… Koakuma… Marisa… Mistress Flandre, even… Why, Mistress Remilia?" Meiling says.  
"It doesn't matter. Leave." Remilia says.  
"It does matter. And I'm not leaving. You blatantly disregarded the spell card rules, and in doing so, killed one of my friends." Reimu says coldly.  
"Yes. Leave anyways." Remilia says.  
"I'm sorry, Mistress Remilia, but I can't forgive you either. I'm supposed to protect this place and its residents. Even if it's from you, Mistress Remilia." Meiling says.  
"Hmph. I understand." Remilia says, as a chain of fate stabs the gatekeeper into the ceiling, killing her.  
Reimu gasps, then repeats the first words she said to the vampire.

One of the side doors is flung open, and Alice and Shanghai burst out. "Remilia! Stop, now." Alice says.  
"So that's what I smelled. I see no reason to stop now, I'm already damned." Remilia says calmly.  
"Alice, get out of here, I'll take care of this." Reimu says, without taking her eyes off the vampire.  
"No, she's already killed too many people. I'm not going to-"Alice stops talking to drop to the ground, dodging a chain that whips through where her head just was.  
Reimu rolls to the side to avoid a Gungnir, before saying "Fine, but if you get yourself killed, it's not my fault." She shoots a large number of amulets at Remilia, who destroys them all with a chain of fate.  
Alice throws a few hundred explosive dolls at Remilia, blasting her into the air. Reimu follows up with a barrage of needles, and Alice throws a few more explosive dolls at the vampire. As the air clears, Remilia is nowhere to be seen.

"Damn." Reimu says. She begins to cast Fantasy Heaven, but halfway through, a chain wraps around her ankles which prevents her from floating away from reality. "What!? How!?" Reimu says, pulling at the chains. Alice blows up the chain with another doll, but not soon enough to prevent Remilia's chain from landing a glancing blow to her side.  
"Bothersome dolls." Remilia says. Alice jumps diagonally forwards, narrowly dodging a chain. Remilia then falls from the ceiling onto Reimu, dropping her to the ground. Alice sends multiple lance-wielding dolls at her, but their weapons break on the vampire's skin. Reimu tries to shove a needle through Remilia's heart, but Remilia swats the weapon away, and shoves her hand through Reimu's skull.

"Reimu!" Alice shouts. Shanghai urgently points at her grimoire. Alice sighs, and, skipping the theatrics, opens the book to the page she was on earlier. "I hate you eternally for making me use this." Alice says.  
Remilia sends chains of fate after Alice, but they disintegrate when they get within about ten feet of her. "What is that?" Remilia says.  
"This book is the ultimate magic. It contains the power to rewrite the universe, from the beginning of time, to the caster's desires." Alice says.  
Remilia's eyes grow wide, and she fervently exclaims "Give it to me! I'll undo all of this! Give me it, I want my friends, my family back!"

"What do you think I'm doing? Anyway, there is always a cost. Last time I used this, Makai, my home, was sealed off from the rest of the world. I haven't seen my mother in years because of this book. I don't even know if she's still my mother. And everyone I know from this world… changed. That is why I hate you for this. I don't know what the cost will be this time, but it will be your fault." Alice says, as the grimoire starts glowing in rainbow colors.  
Remilia sits on the floor and starts bawling. Once she is able to put a sentence together again, she says "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, to everyone… I don't…" She starts crying again, and then, she chops her own head off with one of her chains.  
Alice begins crying as well, and she lists off all the things that will have never happened. "Remilia never wanted to become an adult; there was never an explosion at the mansion; Marisa never decided to get books from Patchouli today; Remilia and Patchouli never started fighting; Remilia never killed Flandre, Patchouli, Reimu, Marisa, Meiling, or Koakuma."  
Shanghai hugs Alice's neck, and a bright flash of light erupts from the grimoire.

* * *

Epilogue

"Ugh…" Alice says.  
"Oi, Alice. You okay? You just kinda fell over. Didn't hurt yourself or nothing, did ya?" a familiar voice says.  
_Marisa. So she alive at least, seems fairly much the same, too._ Alice thinks happily.  
"Yeah, we were really worried. You wouldn't wake up for a while, there."  
_Reimu, too. That's good. It means the spell card rules probably still apply._ Alice thinks. She sits up and says "Where's Shanghai?"  
"Always worried about your dolls, aren't you." Remilia, of all people, says.  
Alice turns to face the vampire and says "What are you doing here?" Here, in this case, being the shrine.  
"Durr. I think ya must'a hit your head a little too hard there, Alice. We're havin' a party, remember? Now that everybody's all rested up from that underground thingy, we decided to celebrate the continued survival of us surface dwellers as not crispy dinner. Anyways, I got Shanghai right in here. Ya made her act all scared of Remi and had her hide under my hat." Marisa says.  
"May I see her?" Alice says.  
"Yeah, sure. She's your doll, after all." Marisa says, taking off her hat.  
Alice can sense no life at all from the little doll. It is as dead as any other magic powered wooden construct. The doll maker falls to the ground weeping. Marisa picks Shanghai up off her head and hands it to Alice, and Reimu says "I think we just better leave her be… I don't know what happened, but it looks like whatever it was wasn't very good."  
"Indeed. I am entirely unsure as to what is occurring, but I believe it is something we should leave her to work through herself." Remilia says, turning to leave for the front of the shrine, followed by Sakuya with a parasol, and the two incident resolvers.

* * *

New End Note: Both this story and Puella Magi Marisa Magica are receiving a sequel in Mother, Where Art Thou (Name subject to change). That story's first chapter will not be released for some time, but, if you wish to read it, it is recommended that you also read Marisa Magica before doing so.


End file.
